Friday, 28 February 2014

Whilst we avoid writing technical content we thought it was timely to share the facts about why we are so passionate about building great websites.

Did you know…

15.5 million Australians access the internet

35 years and above account for 57.7% of the online population

On average, Australians spend nearly 24 hours per week on the internet

These figures speak for themselves. More and more mature aged Australians are active online, they often rely heavily on the internet to research products and services they are looking for.

With advances in technology, people’s habits are changing. Where and how they use the internet has evolved.

Did you know…

77% of Australians don’t leave their home without having their smart phone on them

78% of smart phone users access the internet from their phone

When they access the internet on their phone, they:

connected with the business (64%)

visited the business via website or in store (67%)

made a purchase either online or in store (41%)

This shows Australians are on the move with accessing the internet. They are using their mobile to find the answer they need – on the spot.

The way a website appears on a desktop computer is very different to how it appears on a mobile phone. This is because of the reduced screen-size, meaning there’s less real-estate for the website to sit on, making parts of the website un-readable. However a responsively designed website, adapts and scales itself automatically to fit perfectly within screens of all sizes. This means collapsing menu’s to hide beneath buttons, changing the structure of pages, and moving certain buttons to prominent areas to make sure all ‘calls-to-action’ aren’t missed.

In short, responsively designed websites always display optimally depending on the device they are viewed on. Not only this, but Google shows plenty of love to websites that are built responsively, so they are a great help for SEO. It’s like the invention of the iPod compared to the cassette player. It’s only a matter of time until all websites are built responsively.

But Adam, I have a mobile website, does this mean I’m in the clear?

It’s an ‘A’ for effort, but a B- for execution. Don’t get me wrong, having a mobile website and a standard website is better than just a standard website, or no website at all for that matter. But there are a few key differences between responsively designed websites, and mobile websites:

Mobile Website

Has a separate CMS that needs to be updated independently

Information and features are culled to fit on a mobile screen

Is only useful on mobile devices

Responsive Website

It is the one website, with the one CMS so only has to be updated the once

Almost no features are culled, just re-arranged nicely

Fits perfectly on mobile, desktop and tablet devices

Ensuring your business has a website that works well in today’s rapidly changing technology environment is critical to the success of your business. If a user finds you online and change